In the first half of the season the New York Knicks became something of a feel-good story, much to the credit of Kristaps Porzingis having a standout rookie season, but also as a result of the team’s visible improvement from last season. That included Carmelo Anthony’s inspired unselfish play.
But the Knicks have fallen well below .500 and still face the rigors of lacking the necessary talent to consistently compete. Strides have been made with Porzingis and others such as Arron Afflalo and Robin Lopez, but Phil Jackson still has plenty more work to do. When it comes to this summer’s free agency bidding, Carmelo Anthony is adamant about helping the Knicks landing some key free agents.
Following from Marc Berman of the New York Post:
“Put me at the head of the table and let’s go to work,’’ Anthony said about summer free-agent meetings. “Put me in the board room.’’
Anthony was not asked to be apart of any meetings with free agents last summer. That’s what he’s looking to change this time around.
“Phil had it [last year],” Anthony quipped. “This summer is going to be interesting. I don’t have a choice. If we want this team to be better, we want to add pieces. I don’t have a choice but to go out there and do my job and try to get people to come here so they can see it from my perspective rather than everybody else’s perspective, seeing it from a player’s perspective.”
The Knicks are in desperate need of an upgrade at point guard. They’ve been reported to be targeting Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley in free agency this summer. Rajon Rondo, the NBA’s leader in assists per game this season, is someone that Anthony considers ideal for the Knicks. Rondo is also a free agent this summer, but is considered a questionable fit in New York in the triangle offense.
“I don’t want to be tampering — I’ve heard he said he wouldn’t thrive in a system like this,” Anthony said of his fellow Oak Hill Academy alum. “I think he’d be perfect in a system like this. A system like this fits a guy like that. To have the ball in their hands and be able to run the offense, I think it fits well. I don’t know who’s telling him he don’t fit.”
“It is a misconception about that. Some of our keys of offense is penetration, getting in the paint, pushing the pace, transition creating in the paint for bigs. A point guard would love that. It’s a perfect opportunity.”
Carmelo Anthony has his work cut out for him this summer. The significance of this final leg of his career is completely dependent on his ability to recruit one or two marquee free agents to the Knicks. Rajon Rondo isn’t one of the big fish on the market (like say, Kevin Durant), but the championship pedigree and competitive drive would make the Knicks a better team. At this point, Anthony just wants to help the Knicks improve. Their efforts in free agency this summer will determine how quickly they can do that.
